Electric steam-engine governor



(No Model.)

' O. B. MELOTT.

ELECTRIC STEAM ENGINE GOVERNOR.

Patented Jan. 1,1895.

Rm psrzm co. mom

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHESTER B. MELOTT, OF RONDOUT, NEXV YORK.

ELECTRIC STEAM-ENGINE GOVERNOR.

V SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,849, datedJanuary 1, 1 895.

Application filed uly 21,1894. Serial No. 518,182. (No model.)

To 00% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHESTER B. MELOTT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rondout, in the county of Ulster and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Steam-EngineGovernors, of which the following is a full, clear,.a nd exactdescription.

This invention relates to governors of steam engines and'consists of anelectrical apparatus for governing the engine, the object of which is toproduce a very sensitive governor.

My invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the flywheel of an engine fitted with my improved apparatus, and Fig. 2 is adiagram of electric circuits which may be used in connection with thesaid apparatus.

A represents the main shaft of an engine upon which is journaled a flywheel B. Upon the shaft is placed an eccentric at around which is astrap a connected with the valve rod 00' in the usual manner. Theangular position of the eccentric upon the shaft determines the point atwhich the steam is cutoff, and so regulates the speed of the engine. Theposition of the eccentric is shifted by means of a yoke a to which areattached at opposite points links I), at the outer ends of which arepivoted other links I), the latter being in turn pivoted to the rim ofthe wheel, as shown at 6 At the hinge connecting these two linkstogether is usually placed a weight, and such a weight is shown in theaccompanying drawings at 20. Each pair of links is under the control ofa coiled spring 11 The movement of the weights toward and away from thecenter, which is caused by the centrifugal force, serves to vary theposition of the eccentric upon the shaft and thus adjust the out off.

My invention consists in supplementing the action of the weights bymagnetic attraction, and I attach to each weight an electro magnet c, ofthe solenoid type, which is provided with a loose soft iron core 0 whichstands in a position substantially tangent to the center h Theattraction of the magnet causes the core to be drawn through the spooluntil the center of each coincides, and this movement is taken advantageof by adjusting the parts so that the head of the core must pressagainst the rim of the wheel at the point e and force the magnet andweight toward the center of the wheel before the center of the core cancoincide with the center of the magnet. If the circuit of the magnets isclosed at the very moment when additional load is thrown upon theengine, the force of the magnets will act to throw the weights inwardand thus shift the shaft to give the engine more steam before thecentrifugal force will allow the weights to move inward. Thus the enginewill be able to take up the increased load more quickly.

The arrangement for controlling an electric circuit, including themagnets, will depend upon the nature of the work which the engine has todo. If the engine is driving a dynamo-electric machine, the circuitcloser for the magnets may be controlled by an electromagnetic apparatusin the main circuit of the dynamo, and this arrangement I haveillustrated in Fig. 2. The magnets are placed in series in a circuit (1,shown in dotted lines, the terminals of which connect with two insulatedrings (1, (1 respectively upon the shaft with the fly wheel. From theserings the circuit is continued by means of brushes 6, e, to batteryfiandthence to the armature and front stop f and f respectively of anelectro-magnet g. This magnet may be placed in a shunt from the maincircuit of the dynamo, as shown in the drawings, or may be in any otherway connected with the main circuit. The magnet 9 simply represents anapparatus which responds to variations in the current of the main dynamocircuit; that is to say, when the current rises to a certain point themagnet g becomes energized and closes the local circuit through themagnets. The magnets then become energized and quickly force the weightstoward the center of the shaft of the fly wheel and adjust the Valvewith the engine. The manner of controlling the circuit of the magnets isnot a material part of my invention and any method or apparatus for thispurpose may be used.

I contemplate in some instances the entire elimination of the weightsand substituting therefor the magnets only, in which case the magnetswould not only act in the manner hereinbefore described, but would alsoserve as weights.

in the modification shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the magnet is fixedto the rim of the wheel and its core is connected through a spring withthe arm carrying the weight. hen this arrangement is used there will be,of course, two magnets one for each weight, and the action upon theweights will be substantially the same as when the magnets are attacheddirectly to the weights.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination with theflywheel of a steam engine and its valve regulating weights, ofelectro-magnets attached to said weights and adapted, by magneticattraction to assist the movement of the weights toward and away fromthe center of the Wheel.

2. The combination of a steam engine fly wheel and a valve adjustingmechanism, the said mechanism being moved by magnetic attraction.

3. The combination of a steam engine fly wheel, a pair ofelectro-magnets mounted in the wheel to swing toward and away from itscenter by centrifugal force, valve mechanism connected to said magnets,the magnets being arranged so that when energized their attractive forcewill be exercised to move them toward or away from the center of thewheel, and an electric circuit including said electromagnets andopenedand closed by an increase or decrease of the the load of the engine.

In testimony whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

CHESTER l MELOT". iVitnesses:

DANIEL B. STOW, WILBUR L. HALE.

